World Fuel prices are at an 11 year low, but in Belize pump prices went up at midnight Premium went up by 72 cents per gallon or 8%, Regular went up by 97 cents or 13%, and Diesel went up by 81 cents, or 13% as well.
And the reasons the local prices have spiked when world prices are declining is that Government says it needs a bigger tax bite to pay its bills.
A government release says "the Import Duties on Premium Gasoline and Diesel Oil increased by 65 cents Belize per U.S. Gallon while the Import Duty on Regular Gasoline increased by 57 cents Belize per U.S. Gallon."
And in a release today, the Ministry of Finance makes no bones about it, they need the money. The release says, quote, "this is a fiscal consolidation measure to strengthen public finances at the start of the new 2016 calendar year and also to compensate for the decline in revenues linked to the decline in domestic crude oil production." That's because BNE's Spanish Lookout oil field is almost depleted and has significantly reduced output.
But, the good news is, Government expects that world oil prices will decline even further and "pump prices will stabilize at a point below $9.00 and $8.00 per gallon mark for Premium and Regular Gasolines, and below $6.50 per gallon for Diesel.
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